The Steamtown Peterborough Railway Preservation Society Inc. (known colloquially as Steamtown and Steamtown Peterborough) was a not-for-profit incorporated society that operated a heritage steam railway from Peterborough, South Australia, north along a section of the Peterborough to Quorn railway line, between 1977 and 2002. The society based its operations on the former South Australian Railways roundhouse at Peterborough and purpose-built sheds and yard at Peterborough West. Peterborough is on the East-west rail corridor connecting Sydney and Perth. The society's formation reflected the fact that before the 1881 narrow-gauge route was rebuilt as a standard gauge line in 1970, it was South Australia's busiest regional railway hub – venue of the headquarters of the Northern Division of the South Australian Railways, regional train control, and railway workshops and maintenance facilities employing more than 1,000 people to look after more than 100 passing trains a day. After 1970, however, the scale of railway operations progressively reduced as the functions undertaken at Peterborough were moved elsewhere. The society operated for 25 years – in its peak year running 27 scheduled passenger trains – but under-capitalisation, the progressive departure of skilled tradespeople from the town and a dramatic increase in insurance costs brought about its end. The Steamtown Heritage Rail Centre, developed by the Peterborough District Council since 2002 as a static-display museum in the former roundhouse and workshops, has utilised the locomotives and rolling stock previously owned by the society, becoming a significant tourist attraction. Its award-winning sound and light show tells the story of South Australia's early railways and presents a reminder of the town's former importance as a major railway centre. Foundation The society was founded in 1977 to run a steam-hauled tourist train service on the Peterborough–Quorn railway line narrow gauge railway between Peterborough and Eurelia using retired South Australian Railways T class steam locomotive, T199. A prime motivation for the project was the return to steam – by its owners, the Pichi Richi Railway, situated 120 km (75 mi) to the north-west – of sister locomotive T186, in 1976. The newly delivered locomotive, which had received final fitting and painting at Peterborough, was a centrepiece of the highly successful Peterborough Centenary celebrations. Operations Four years after the society's foundation, on 17 April 1981, it ran its first public train. Subsequently, an average of six trips a year were made between Peterborough and Orroroo, and Peterborough and Eurelia. The peak